GIFT BOOKS

By Bonnie Stanard

 

I don’t give as many books as gifts as I should. After all, it reminds my friends and family that in this age of instant entertainment, there’s still a place for books, or in other words, solitary introspection. Given the impact of Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, etc., today’s youngsters may grow to fear being alone.

 

All of which makes gifting books a good idea. A person, especially a child, can tolerate and even enjoy being alone when they’re with a book they enjoy.

 

Our inclination is to make presents of books we like, but that’s not always a good idea, especially if you’re unsure of the giftee’s taste. My husband likes mysteries, which I don’t read. Unless I go for nonfiction, my book selection for him is like a shot in the dark. So how do you make a choice?

 

One way is to think of movies they like. Often the book is better than the movie. Script writers who hew a novel’s text down to fit a 90 or 120 minute-movie leave out concepts, feelings, and those abstract things that make us human.

 

If your giftee liked the movie “The Life of Pi,” give them the book. Author Yann Martel offers more to think about than the movie. Here is a sampling of other titles that were popular movies and are well worth revisiting as books.

 

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (Series)

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín

English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

Roots by Alex Haley (Series)

Shipping News by Annie Proulx

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

(BTW the Swedish movie with Noomi Rapace is better than Hollywood’s rip-off)

 

Here are examples of mundane movies which were made from good books, so if a person liked these movies, they may LOVE the book.

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (Series)

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Perfume by Patrick Suskind

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (Series)

 

My family often asks me for gift suggestions, and though I like to get books, I’m reluctant to name titles. I enjoy knowing their choice of a book. Invariably it tells me something about them.

 

As we indulge in this season’s craze of sparkle and shine, let’s not forget the quiet value of books.

 

 

On the Bedside Table

By Bonnie Stanard

 

I've been asked where I get my inspiration to write. It has taken a while, but I've figured out a response, which comes as close to an answer as I can get. More times than not, my ideas come from books. There's always a book on my bedside table (currently The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, and The Lottery by Shirley Jackson).

 

Several years ago I read Rest in Pieces by Bess Lovejoy and didn't realize at the time that a chapter about Moliere would eventually inspire a novel.

 

Rest in Pieces recounts the adventures of Moliere's corpse. The famous French actor was stricken on stage, was removed to a house across the street, and died shortly thereafter. At the time, the Catholic Church condemned actors. Most of them renounced their profession to a priest just before dying to get a Christian burial. However, Moliere died without a priest. No Christian burial for him. Louis XIV intervened and the Church relented and allowed a burial at night somewhere in St. Joseph's cemetery, but nobody marked the site. Even his wife, upon returning to the cemetery, couldn't find his grave. His body was lost. But an idea grew and my novel found his grave and a character stole his skull. I have Lovejoy's book to thank for sending my imagination off to France in 1672.

 

Here's a thought I'm having now. At present I'm working on another historical fiction about a person being held in a prison-like chamber of a chateau. It's become a challenge to develop this story, given a situation in which nothing happens. When I mentioned this to a friend, he enthusiastically recommended a book with just such a plot—"A Gentleman in Moscow," which he said was a story about a man held prisoner in a hotel. I've ordered a copy but do I dare read it now? Will it unduly influence what I hope will be my story? Might I subconsciously copy from that story?

 

We subconsciously and unconsciously and deliberately take information from books, which is one reason why we should read authors whose work we admire. We might find in another book a person, place, or plot that motivates us to develop a story.

 

If that happens, it won't be the first time. Take a look at writers who based their work on previously published book.

 

The Hours by Michael Cunningham on Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Wolfe.

Ulysses by James Joyce on The Odyssey by Homer

March by Geraldine Brooks takes a character from Little Women

Robinson Caruso re-written by J.M. Coetzee (Foe) and Michel Tournier (Friday)

 

From Steven King comes advice that doesn't grow old: "Read, read, read. You have to read widely, constantly refining (and redefining) your own work as you do so. If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write."